Mike Pompeo threw G7 leaders a curveball when he referred to the coronavirus as the “Wuhan virus” during a videoconference. World Leaders wanted to put out a statement to let people know leaders from all nations want to put an end to the health crisis as quickly as possible. But the G7 leaders didn’t put out that statement. They thought Pompeo’s remarks created more divisiveness instead of bringing nations together.
Huawei will take a financial hit from the coronavirus pandemic, according to CEO Ren Zhengfei. Zhengfei told the press he won’t know how bad his revenue slide will be until the first-quarter numbers surface. The Chinese smartphone vendor decided to pump $5 billion more into its R&D budget. The company plans to spend $20 billion in 2020 on R&D. During the Chinese New Year holiday, company engineers and thousands of scientists worked on projects that will keep the company ahead of its competition.
Huawei’s smartphone division took a hit from Trump’s blacklisting. Huawei’s new smartphones don’t have Google’s Android OS in their DNA. The P40 series comes equipped with Huawei’s Harmony OS and apps that mirror Google apps. The P40 series made its debut in China, March 26th. But Americans who want one of the company’s foldable new phones with innovative cameras and sensors that put the pressure on Samsung and Apple will have to go to China or Europe to buy one.
President Trump worries about China. He continues to call the coronavirus the “China virus.” Chinese officials say Trump likes to cause trouble. Trump claims he uses that term because the Chinese claim the U.S. Army planted the virus in China to destroy the country’s economic growth. Economists think China could come out of the health crisis stronger than it was before the virus shut the country down for two months.
China’s factories are open again, but not all factory employees are back at work. Spain, Italy, the UK, and the rest of Europe is in shutdown mode. And the United States is closed for business, so Chinese factories don’t have enough future orders to bring economic growth back to where it was before the health and financial crisis in the second quarter, according to the New York Times.
The Chinese thought economic growth would spike in the second quarter, but that won’t happen until the rest of the world goes back to work. Health officials say that might not happen for months.
Dil Bole Oberoi
